[November 15, 2016]
Steve Mona, CEO of the World Golf Foundation, says that when he surveys golf courses around the country, he says he mainly sees two colors: green and white.
Golf industry reports confirm Mona’s impression. American golfers are 77 percent male and 80 percent white, according to the 2015 Golf Diversity & Inclusion Report. Among professional golfers, 75 percent are male and 86 percent are white. And golf-industry workers–every one from caddies to greenskeepers– are 90 percent male and 88 percent white.
But Mona has strong words about an overwhelmingly white, $70 billion business.
“The golf industry should look like America,” Mona, who is White told Urban News Service. “Diversity is fundamental to the future success of the golf industry.”
Golf remains a big business in America. Some 25 million Americans play 455 million rounds annually on 15,350 links, according to the WGF. Golf generates some $55.6 billion in annual wages.
But asked why a White executive like himself worries about racial diversity, Mona didn’t hesitate. “It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “We want to make young people and parents from diverse backgrounds aware that there are 2 million jobs in the golf industry.”
Mona is matching his words with action. He created a Diversity Task Force, established partnerships with major companies and will host a diversity forum in December with major industry leaders.
Little has changed in golf since the demographics of it s players and staff was first studied in 2003, said Dr. Michael Cooper, a member of the foundation’s Diversity Task Force. “I haven’t seen a lot of what is supposed to be taking place, and I can’t vouch for golf becoming more inclusive and diverse than it is,’” Cooper said. “But I do have faith in Steve Mona.”
“With regard to racial diversity, this is a work in progress,” said Cooper, who has played for 48 years. “And we have an awful long way to go.”
Read more by Michael Cottman / Urban News Service at EBONY
